Household water bills _320
A WATCHDOG has labelled a pro-posed rise in water bills of 11% above inflation as “unacceptable”.
The announcement by United Utilities (UU) could mean the average water bill for Merseyside householders rising from £350 in 2010 to £390 by 2015, before inflation.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) claims the planned increase will make water unaffordable for many customers.
Figures released by United Utilities (UU) yesterday , estimate increases from the current average 96p charge per day to £1.07 in 2015, a two percent increase per year above inflation.
Andrea Cook, chairman of the CCW Northern, said: “We recognise that much of the work that UU needs to carry out is mandatory, including addressing the costly issue of sewer overflows.
“Nevertheless, some customers will find these prices unafford-able, especially in light of other household bill increases. Custom-ers will want to see the justifica-tion for any proposed price increases and to understand what they will get for the extra money.”
Despite being consulted by UU on its plans, the council believes UU should consider lower cost options and phase work over a longer period of time to spread the impact on bills.
She added: “We are particularly concerned about how these proposed bill increases would affect the vulnerable and other low income customers who already struggle to pay their bills.
“This is a region with a high level of social and economic deprivation and there is an absence of appropriate government support to help.”
UU’s draft-proposals will see an investment of £1,300 for each household in the North West as part of a £4bn programme to maintain and improve water and wastewater systems.
The five-year blueprint is set against challenges to the industry including climate change, greater risks of flooding and drought, economic pressures and the need to cut carbon emissions.
UU has been left with legacy problems in the North West with many water pipes dating back to the Victorian era needing repair or replacing.
The planned investment will see more money put into flood protec-tion, leakage reduced by 15m litres a day and improvements in the region’s coastal and inland waterways. In Merseyside, this will mean more investment in Liverpool’s Sandon Dock Works and a £20m ecological quality programme which will include the River Mersey and Alt.
Work will also start on a new 55km Liverpool-Manchester pipeline to help transport water around the counties.
Philip Green, chief executive of UU, which has its headquarters in Warrington, said: “We are aware that our customers are facing more challenging economic times and we have looked at econ-omies and efficiencies wherever possible to keep bills as low as we can.
“At just over £1 a day, we believe our water and wastewater services will continue to represent outstanding value for money.
“This is a draft plan. There are still important issues which are uncertain and we are keen to get a wide range of views before details are finalised”.
Before preparing the plan, UU researched the views of 2,000 domestic and 500 business customers to identify areas of concern and help ensure a service which meets expectations.
Industry regulator Ofwat will examine the draft plans and stake-holders, including customers will have chance to comment on the plans up until March next year.
